FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - The U.S. government is on track to approve nearly $40 billion (£30.1 billion) in foreign military sales in the 2016 fiscal year that ends Oct. 1, down from $46.6 billion last year, a top Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, January 28, Ambassador Michael D. Kirby will attend a donation ceremony at the Serbian Red Cross warehouse in Zemun to mark the handover of a consignment of supplies to assist refugees and migrants in Serbia. The donation is the first of two, with a total value of approximately $665,000. This is a US Department of Defense donation carried out through EUCOM (US Military European Command) and the US Embassy.

Sales under the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales Program totaled $35.359 billion. Along with sales executed using U.S. government appropriations under various security cooperation and security assistance authorities such as Foreign Military Financing (FMF), and DoD programs, totaled $11.726 billion, totaling $47.085 billion for fiscal year 2015.

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently completed two humanitarian assistance construction projects that are now providing critical support services to the population of Kathmandu, Nepal, in the wake of the deadly earthquakes that struck in April and May.

(Reuters) - American weapons makers this week welcomed a push by U.S. government agencies to better coordinate on arms sales policies, but say most deals still take far too long to process, frustrating potential customers.

Many U.S. arms makers have sought to offset declines in American and European defense spending by boosting international sales, but they regularly complain that slow government approvals of deals frustrates some customers and drives them to look at offers from non-U.S companies.

“The United States Military will remain committed to our mission here in Nepal,” said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John E. Wissler, JTF 505 commander. “We will continue to stand with Nepal as long as our friends need our help.”

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2015 — U.S. military aircraft landed in Kathmandu, Nepal, yesterday to assist in recovery efforts following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck there April 25, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters today.